It's about that small slit below the middle of the black plastic separator.

I've had my fluval spec V for about 2 weeks now and the first thing I did after perusing reviews/mods was to plug that slit with silicon. So I did, and I really can't say that inflow is improved. It makes sense, that water would therefore flow in from the top vented section and then down, but water is pretty stagnant up in that section.

One more thing..

The pump placement. Per the instruction manual, it says to position the pump so that the intake is against the black plastic. Originally I had it rotated clockwise 90 degrees (looking from the top) because it made sense to me to have the pump intake closest to the sponge and not pushed up against a wall basically. In the end, I changed it back to what the instruction manual said because I thought Fluval did their research and should know best.

So just curious, how's your guys' placement of the pump? Did you follow the instructions or turn it? Also thoughts on siliconing/covering up the small slit halfway down? Help with flow or not?

Hopefully we can all help make this tank the most efficient it can be!

That filter compartment isn't the issue. It is the small one towards the bottom. Yes, the best idea is to block it With mesh or plastic.

Fluval Spec V

I stuck a rubber strip into the slot. Not a problem for about a week so far. Better flow from the top. The slit is only required if the water level goes below the intake slots on top. The motor will still get water from the slot on the bottom.

The lighting sucks also. I bought a Marineland 17 in LED. Fits nicely on top of the plastic cover. Brightens the place up. May get another one for the back side.

The top part could be painted black (krylon fusion), but I'm sitting right next to my tank, and I can't see it, so I'm going to leave mine as is.

Looks good. I'm going to use this idea since I have a couple of berried females already. A friend of mine says baby shrimp go into those slots, eat and come back out. Is that a metal mesh? Does it go all the way down past bottom slot?

The pump placement. Per the instruction manual, it says to position the pump so that the intake is against the black plastic. Originally I had it rotated clockwise 90 degrees (looking from the top) because it made sense to me to have the pump intake closest to the sponge and not pushed up against a wall basically. In the end, I changed it back to what the instruction manual said because I thought Fluval did their research and should know best.

I also turned my pump where the intake faces the sponge. I'd like to hear opinions/thoughts on this. It made sense to me, I guess.

I am curious if anyone has had success in diffusing co2 in the the pump side of the return chamber? I am considering cutting a slot or hole in the pump output hose but I don't know how efficient this method would be. Currently the flow in the tank is a little high so this could be a two birds situation.

I'm going to be doing something like the above picture too -- once i get a handle on things I'll post my specs and where to pick up the equipment. it'll probably cost you 5 bucks to get. but if I make some i'll ROAK it just have to pay shipping.

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